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So, You’ve Given up on Your New Year’s Resolution

  • Writer: Max McAuley
    Max McAuley
  • Feb 10, 2023
  • 5 min read

Updated: Mar 30, 2023

Believe it or not, we’re over a month into 2023, and that means it’s time for everyone to check their progress on their new year’s resolutions. Whether it’s sculpting that perfect summer bod or hitting the books to learn a new skill, people love capitalizing on the new year to improve themselves. Well let’s be honest, people love the idea of a new year’s resolution, but sticking to it is a whole other story.


A picture of Chris Evans as Captain America from the MCU. Picture courtesy of KnowYourMeme.com.


So, you’ve given up on your new year’s resolution, and who could blame you? We live in a day and age where it seems like everyone and everything is vying for our attention. Between social media and streaming services, the average person has an unprecedented amount of content to pick and choose from. With so much at our fingertips, who has the time to stick to a new year’s resolution?


As they say: Modern problems require modern solutions, so why not use all of this content to our advantage? Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice for making sure you don’t skip leg day, but if your resolution is to learn more this year, then I just might be able to help If you don’t have the time or patience to sit down to read a book, especially after work, you don’t have to force yourself to. There are ways to learn while you’re commuting to work, washing the dishes, or even during your daily hourly doom scroll through social media, and I’m going to show some of them to you.


*As a writer, my specific content examples will naturally pertain to writing, but there’s no doubt in my mind that there are similar materials for any vocation you choose to pursue, should you feel inclined to look for them.



First, I’d like to acknowledge the various social media accounts made for writers. “Outstanding Screenplays,” “Screencraft,” and “Coverfly” are all worthwhile instagram accounts that I highly recommend any aspiring writer follow. What’s nice about following these accounts is that the content is presented to you. Once you follow them, you won’t have to actively seek out educational content. They will present the content to you (and quite regularly at that).



The content ranges from inspirational movie clips to advice and interviews from accomplished screenwriters such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Jordan Peele. If nothing more, they can serve as a reminder for you to WRITE YOUR SCRIPT! That’s all well and good, but what I value most about these accounts is that they post regular notices about upcoming script competitions. One of my major hangups fresh out of college is that I didn’t know how to apply myself and my writing in the real world. Script competitions are not only great for hearing feedback for your script, but should your script do well, these competitions are a great way for you and you work to receive recognition.


A picture of the Instagram bios of "Outstanding Screenplays," "Screencraft," and "Coverfly" pulled directly from their instagram accounts.


Additionally, What’s nice about the social media angle is that once you start to follow one or more of these accounts, the algorithm will start to present more of them to you. The social media algorithm can be a vicious cycle, but you can make it work for you! If you’re prone to doom-scrolling like I am, you might as well fill your timeline with content that will enlighten and inspire you… In addition to the cute dog videos and funny memes.



Next, I would like to shout out The Screenwriting Life with Meg LeFauve & Lorien Mckenna. This podcast has kept me company on many long drives, times where my mind would otherwise be left idle. Meg and Lorien are two industry screenwriters that have worked in the business long enough to have some stories to tell, and that’s exactly what they do. Along with regaling their audience with stories of what it’s like to work in the industry, the two personable hosts present tips and advice the writers of all skill levels will find helpful. What’s more, the content from their podcast is timeless, so you could easily start at the start of their first episode, and work through their backlog of over 100 episodes.



On top of The Screenwriting Life Podcast, Meg and Lorien also maintain a Facebook group of the same name with about 5,000 members. If you’d like to join a group driven, passionate writers, then look no further. Meg and Lorien foster an active group that often posts multiple times a day.


A picture of The Screenwriting Life Banner as seen on their Facebook page.



Last, but farthest from least, I would be remiss if I didn’t finish this article by sharing one of my most cherished pieces of content that I’ve discovered in my time as a writer: Brandon Sanderson’s creative writing lectures on Youtube.


For those that aren’t familiar, Brandon Sanderson is one of the most prolific fantasy writers of our lifetime. His book, Words of Radiance has the highest average ranking on good reads, and he recently ran the single most successful crowdfunding campaign in Kickstarter history, raising over $41.7 million to publish four books that he’d written in secret throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This is all to say that Mr. Sanderson is a very accomplished writer.


On top of all these accolades, Brandon Sanderson finds the time to teach creative writing at BYU, his alma mater. Now, it may read as though I’m gushing about Mr. Sanderson, and admittedly I am, but I'm telling you this, because he has taken the liberty to record his entire course, thirteen hour-long lectures, and posted them to his Youtube channel entirely for free.

While, yes, these lectures are structured for writing prose, that doesn’t mean that the concepts and ideas aren’t transferable. I’ve learned and applied more knowledge from these lectures than some of the courses I took in college. More than just prose, or even writing, Brandon educates about being a professional creative, and provides some tips and tricks valuable to anyone in a creative field whether as a hobbiest or professional.


A picture of Brandon Sanderson lecturing. Photo from Brandon Sanderson's Youtube Channel.


Personally, I’ve spent plenty of afternoons washing dishes whilst watching Brandon Sanderson’s lectures from my phone that’s precariously mounted above the sink. I can’t stress enough that this is a college level-course that’s entirely free, and can be enjoyed from your toilet should you please, though I recommend watching from where you can take notes as a great deal of Mr. Sanderson’s lessons are worth jotting down.


A supportive thumbs up . Photo from Canva.


If nothing more, I hope that this article rekindles some peoples’ fires to learn and grow this year. Even though free time may be a hot commodity, I hope that these alternative forms of learning will allow for opportunities to learn that weren’t previously available. And for those of you that aren’t writers, I hope that these examples might inspire you to find similar resources within your field of interest. Feel free to share your discoveries in the comments below so that we might create a well of knowledge that we can all benefit from.



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